Interview to Erika Irusta: Menstruating is cool but in this society it hurts

Today’s post is one of those which makes me utterly happy.

I’ve been following Erika Irusta’s blog, El Camino Rubí, since 7th of December 2014, when I became a subscriber –yes, I’ve checked my Gmail inbox to get the date. Since then, I’ve not stopped learning about myself, about feminism and about what does it mean to menstruate in this society.

​If you are reading this and don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, keep going cause you are going to love it.

​In this few years, I’ve seen Erika many times on-screen and a few times face to face. It’s amazing how she always has something very interesting to share!. In this last four years I’ve learnt many things, the most important one for me:

“Menstruation is cool but in this society hurts”

My friends are already tired of me when I start talking about the benefits of knowing our menstrual cycle, but I’ll keep on trying because is a life changing experience.

Many of you already know – based on your own experience that belly dance has the power to improve our cycles, decrease menstrual cramps and even helping with the whole maternity process – as my friend Aixa Laxmi told us one year ago in this other interview.

Well, today I come with a new perspective, the cultural view of it all.

Today I’m making real on of my little dreams, that one that was in the back of my head knocking daily.

This little dream was to interview Erika Irusta, menstrual pedagogue, tender feminist and author of three amazing books. I not only did this interview, I also have the platform to share it and it’s even better that the word of mouth method.

Her vision has taught me a lot about my own vision and a big part of my job is based on that vision. You just have to watch the interview to notice those sparkling eyes of mine 😉

Many of the things we speak about in this interview could be a burning wound for some of my dance colleagues. If it burns is because it’s healing, as my grandma used to say. Here you’ve got an invitation to a respectful and healthy debate.

This means –> leave your comment after watching, please!

Note: this interview contents adult language, if you have sensitive ears around, please use earphones.

In this half an hour chat we spoke about many things. If you are short of time, here you’ve got a summary of the topics:

– 0:14 – Introduction and welcome.
– 0:33 – How would you define yourself? Who is Erika Irusta?
– 4:10 – What changed for you when you started to know your menstrual cycle?
– 6:00 – Belly dance, African dance, menstrual cycle and femininity.
– 9:36 – About menstruation, women, culture, physical activity.
– 13:03 – How do influence the menstrual cycle phases in the creative process?
– 17:10 – what is going to give your new book to the readers?
– 21:17 – Here the thing started to slip through our fingers: you can find different topics, among others:
– 21:37 – A question you’ve never been ask and you would like to answer. How did you become to be what you are from being a mystic person?
– 24:29 – A little note about cultural appropriation.
– Did our grandmas have all the wisdom about menstruation?
– Is belly dance a healing tool? Does it work as a way to discover your femininity and to find you inner goddess?
– 28:56 – Thank’s and bye’s

I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did. Remember, after watching the interview, leave us a comment, best always happens down here.

​Ps: I’m not a professional translator and both, this article and the video subtitles have been translated and written by me. I’m sorry in advance for all the mistakes they both have. Better done than perfect.

You can find and enjoy Erika’s wisdom in many places:

Note for English speakers: At the moment all the content Erika generates is in Spanish. Now you have the perfect excuse to learn some Spanish or practice your forgotten one.
It seems that her new book will be translated into English, so stay tuned.

If you are not a subscriber yet to my newsletter and you fancy to get some belly dance tutorials, articles and interviews like this one, everything belly dance related and from the perspective os a Spanish bellydancer living in London, don’t hesitate and subscribe now.

You don’t want to forget my name and get lost in google trying to find this blog again. Subscribe now 🙂

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